Wallace State baseball carries division-leading pitching staff into Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) tournament at Ozark

May 10, 2013

HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s baseball team begins its postseason quest Saturday with a pitching staff that has compiled a division-best 3.19 ERA.

Coach Randy Putman, making his 23rd postseason appearance with the Lions, hopes that is a good omen heading into the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC)/Region 22 tournament, as the Lions seek their first state title since 2006.

“Our pitching staff has been the backbone of our team and the reason we’ve had success. I truly believe it’s as good of a pitching staff as I’ve ever had here. The pitching has carried us all year, and they’re going to have to carry us in the tournament,” said Putman, who is 11 wins away from 900 in his illustrious career. “Our fate is going to be determined by whether we have a couple of guys step up and knock in some runs. We have no trouble getting on base, but, except for a few games, knocking them in has been a struggle for us all season.”

Wallace State, the North Division’s second seed, plays L.B. Wallace (34-12), the South’s top seed, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the ageless Eagle Stadium in Ozark. An opening-round win gives the Lions (28-21-1) a bye until Monday.

Jacob Croft, a Sylvania native, is 7-5 with a 3.03 ERA, good for third in the division, and has recorded 82 strikeouts in 74 innings. Alex Hegner has the fifth-best ERA (3.55) and is 3-4 in 10 starts.

Lefty Izaac Yarbrough hasn’t thrown enough innings to be eligible in the ERA race, but the freshman from Vinemont is 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA in 12 appearances, including nine starts. Reliever Robby Clements is 2-2 with three saves and a 2.77 ERA in 16 appearances.

Wallace State’s collective 3.19 ERA is nearly a full run better than Shelton State, which has the second-best staff ERA at 4.05.

“All of those guys have been phenomenal this year and given us a chance to win every game. I’m excited about those guys because you’ve got to have as many quality arms as possible if you want to win the tournament,” Putman said.

Sophomore shortstop Nathan Vincent is Wallace State’s offensive leader in the three main categories, hitting .324 this season with five homers and 35 RBIs. He’s also swiped a team-high nine bases.

Jeremiah Tullidge is hitting .321 with a pair of homers and 20 RBIs and Sawyer Williams carries a .319 average and 24 RBIs into the tournament.

The tournament championship is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m.

Wallace State finished state runner-up last season after not qualifying for the tournament in 2011.

“We’ve talked about the bad taste that was in our mouth after losing to Shelton State in the championship game. You don’t ever want that. It was an accomplishment last year to get there, but you want to win it once you’re there,” Putman said. “We believe we have a good chance to be there again, especially because of our pitching staff. It’s my job to get our guys to hit better. We start off with an excellent L.B. Wallace team. That will not be easy. It never has been and never will be.”

For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.